10 November 2009

Senior managment explosion

According to a study by the Council of California Faculty Associations, the University of California has been engaged in a veritable hiring spree when it comes to senior management, to the point that there are now almost as many senior managers at UC as faculty members.

There were 2.5 faculty member for each senior manager at UC in 1993, today it's virtually one to one. If the 2.5 ratio had been enforced, UC would save about $800M — which is, by coincidence, the very same amount of the current budget shortfall over last year.

It would seem irresponsible to furlough and lay off people often making a fraction of what senior manager make — the janitorial and service staff, the lecturers and other temporary faculty as well as many of the regular faculty — the people who make the university run — when there is such a glut at the managerial feeding trough. It is also worth mentioning that while there might be some doubt as to whether UC uses student fees to pay for debt service on construction bonds, executive salaries unquestionably come out of core funds.